South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who has decided to buck the trends around the country and refuse to implement stay-at-home orders in her state, prompted some of her grateful citizens to surprise her with something: a parade.
The parade included numerous vehicles including firetrucks blaring emergency sirens, a pickup hauling a stock trailer, a concrete truck, and even construction equipment, as The Blaze noted.
Noem tweeted, “I am so blessed to serve the people of the great State of South Dakota. You folks made my day!”
I am so blessed to serve the people of the great State of South Dakota. You folks made my day! pic.twitter.com/oy0e5KO9RZ
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) April 28, 2020
On Monday, Noem released the “Back to Normal Plan” for her state. She wrote:
Thanks to a strong commitment and respect for the principle of personal responsibility, South Dakotans have dramatically changed the trajectory of our initial COVID-19 projections. With our hospitalization capacity currently at a manageable level, South Dakotans are asked to the following steps as we look to get back to normal.
In the document, a FAQ answers various hypothetical questions, including, “Does this mean I no longer have to stay at home?” The document answers, “South Dakota never issued a ‘stay at home’ or ‘shelter in place’ order. South Dakotans are encouraged to use common sense and practice good hygiene and reasonable physical distancing.”
Another question: “Are businesses, including outdoor venues and events, allowed to reopen?” Answer: “No business was ever required to close. Businesses are encouraged to consider these guidelines as they resume normal operations, and also must adhere to any local restrictions.”
A third: “When can churches and other places of worship resume religious services?” Answer: “Churches were never required to close; as they resume services, they are encouraged to consider the guidelines for ‘public gatherings’ and to consider steps to maintain reasonable physical distancing.”
As The Daily Wire reported in early April, Noem stated:
Our constitution ensures that the citizen’s right is protected. I agree with the role of our government as set forth in our state and in our national constitution. I took an oath to uphold these constitutions. My role with respect to public safety is something I take very seriouslyThe people themselves are primarily responsible for their safety. They are the ones that are entrusted with expansive freedoms – they are free to exercise their rights to work, worship, and play – or to stay at home, or to conduct social distancing. The calls to apply a one-size-fits all approach to this problem in South Dakota is herd mentality, not leadership.
Last week Noem stated, “I think we’ve got maybe 60 people in the hospital right now. We have 2,500 beds set aside for COVID-19 patients, but we only have 63 in. We probably, from all of our projections and studying the science behind the virus, we won’t peak until the middle of June. But we already have done much better than what we had thought would have been hitting our state already,” as the Washington Examiner reported.
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